Outteridge impresses in abbreviated A-Class World Championship

Artemis Racing helmsman Nathan Outteridge turned in an impressive performance in the A-Class Catamaran World Championships in Florida this week.

Outteridge is relatively new to the A-Class single-handed catamaran, but he burst onto the scene with a second place finish at the Australian National Championships in January.

At first glance, his 16th place ranking this week appears disappointing. But a closer look reveals four finishes among the top six. However he also scored a ‘did not compete’ after breaking a centerboard on the first day which ballooned his point total, resulting in the higher overall ranking.

Under normal circumstances at the World Championship, Outteridge would have been able to discard at least one race, which could have resulted in a podium finish.

But this event was shortened by two days by Hurricane Sandy, which has buffeted the Florida coast with strong winds, forcing organizers to shorten the championship. Had there been one more race, the discard would have come into play.